Ashok Leyland, a leading truck and bus manufacturer, has proposed investing 1,000 crore over the next few years in a greenfield integrated bus manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh that will focus on green mobility.

The Hinduja flagship was looking for a location to establish a new electric bus manufacturing facility. Mahesh Babu, CEO of Ashok Leyland's EV arm Switch Mobility, told businessline a year ago that the company was hoping to finalise a location in southern India.

However, the company has now chosen Uttar Pradesh as its new manufacturing location for its electric buses and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uttar Pradesh government on Sept 15. This will be Ashok Leyland's seventh factory in the country.

In a statement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated that Ashok Leyland's investment in the state strengthens the state's rapidly growing position as a manufacturing hub. "The state government of Uttar Pradesh is eager to attract private-sector investments that are aligned with our net zero mission," he added.

The proposed manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh by Ashok Leyland will initially have a capacity of 2,500 buses per year. The company intends to gradually increase this capacity to accommodate up to 5,000 vehicles per year over the next decade, as demand for electric and other types of buses is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.